'It's difficult to curb illegal loan apps, best thing is to have awareness'

Speaking to ETV Bharat on fraudulent instant loan apps, senior business journalist Aruna Ravi Kumar said that the borrowers must raise an alarm when they see something too simple and too attractive.

Hyderabad: As unauthorised digital lending platforms are operating from multiple places, it is very difficult to trace their activities and make them accountable, says a senior business journalist.

Speaking to ETV Bharat on two recent suicides in Telangana due to alleged harassment by unauthorised digital lending platforms, Aruna Ravi Kumar, who wrote extensively on micro-level financial frauds, said: “We don’t know where they are functioning from. They are not confined to one space; they are spread across different States and different countries.”

Meanwhile, talking to reporters, Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said that they have identified around unauthorised 116 instant loan apps and one Chinese national was arrested in this connection.

Since these digital lenders were not registered with the regulator, it is difficult to fix accountability, said Aruna Ravi Kumar.

“It's like you (borrowers) are going to people, who are not answerable to anybody. If they have registered with the RBI, then you can question them and they are available,” she added.

Awareness is the key

The bait of an instant loan at a click of the button on one’s mobile is proving to be disastrous for many.

“People are easily induced by attractive pronouncements and declarations. As more people adopting digital means for financial transactions, it is important to be careful” observed Aruna Ravi Kumar.

“Because regulatory agencies come into the picture after the fraud is committed…people should themselves start questioning when a scheme is too attractive or too simple or seems to come from nowhere. We need to spread the message that awareness is the best medicine,” she added.